November 16, 2006 · Posted in: i Report Features
Bound to the bottle
OUR latest i Report feature in our addictions series looks at the problem of alcoholism in the Philippines, which is known to be a nation of drinkers. There are practically no official statistics that would show just how prevalent alcoholism is in this country, but sociologist Ricardo Zarco asserts, “It is the most common form of addiction you would find among Filipinos.”
Indeed, alcohol was the top poison recorded among patients of the National Poison Management and Control Center (NPMCC) at the Philippine General Hospital last year. This is no recent development, but has been the trend for most of the past 15 years, during which alcohol has traded places with methamphetamine hydrochloride (better known as shabu), the next leading poison, only a few times. In addition, cirrhosis of the liver, one of the illnesses linked with alcohol addiction, was among the 15 top causes of death among Filipinos in 2004.
Experts say alcoholism is not only difficult to cure, it is also hard to diagnose. This is because alcoholics are unlikely to admit they have a problem in the first place. To complicate matters, the World Health Organization has observed, “Alcoholism is not considered a medical problem by most Filipinos.”
Read on at pcij.org.
3 Responses to Bound to the bottle
ryebosco
November 16th, 2006 at 3:10 am
Alcoholism is prevalent among the marginalized and poor sector of Philippine society which comprise the majority of the population. Most mahihirap resort to alcohol because it is easy access and somewhat affordable that help them forget their daily problems…besides, it’s the macho thing to do as displayed by our leaders such as Erap, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, Generals, Mayors as they plan the future of our country. Yeap, they meet in country clubs planning coups, protests and business deals with that chilled bottle of beer and pulutan. Then come election time, beer is the best tool for vote buying.
If I were dictator, I’d build an Olympic size swimming pool and fill it up with alcohol and then force the alcoholics to swim laps until fatigue consumes their body and drown from what they really love—San Miguel Beer!
naykika
November 16th, 2006 at 7:38 am
One solution to control or minimize alcoholism among the population especially among the young is to avoid introducing the kids to alcohol at early age. I remember, I started consuming alcohol at an early age, that is illegal in some other countries. By the time I reached the legal drinking age I was already a heavy drinker. Whereas, In a State of California, my Nephews who used to drink socially in the Philippines (teenagers) can not even touch alcoholic drinks until age 2l, and by that time they’ll be old enough to know what’s in store. Also the unregulated sales of Alcoholic Drinks is one reason causing Alcoholism. Where can you find a Place where every corner store, anyone, even a child can buy a bottle of ‘Tanduay’ or San Miguel? Also Restaurants and Bar are allowed to serve alcohol before lunch time, which contributed to disease such as stomach ulcers and hyper acidity among drinkers who have nothing on their stomachs before consuming alcohol. And lastly, the main reason is the social and economic conditions of the majority of the young generation, whose form of entertainment to forget or drown the sea of daily struggles and forget everything for the night is to embrace the magical effect of Alcohol, only to wake with more “headaches”the morning after.
Ambuot Saimo
November 16th, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Regulation (banning sales of alcoholic bev. to minors) will help but not solve the problem. Besides, it will not pass muster in congress due to the influence of the rich owners of these companies on many of our congressmen and also bec. on the problems of enforcement. We have plenty of backyard producers of alc. bevs. made from coconut, nipa, sugarcane, rice, etc. and many of them are in the provinces. We don’t have an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) agency which handles this type of thing and so the police is the primary agency which will enforce it. Most of the police officers in the provinces are “tagay-tagay buddies” so they won’t care arresting their “Kumpares”. In urban areas, this will just boost the officers’ list of grounds for “hulidap” “kutong” or “lagay”. The best thing therefore is education- educating the people of the ill-effects of alcohol consumption. And speaking of education here is a familiar scene:
Guy 1: “Pare, maaga pa ay naglalasing ka na naman at parang galit na galit ka sa alak na ‘yan. Mantakin mo halos isang tongga mo lang ang isang boteng purong Ginebra, bakit?”
Guy2: “Ppphaareee, ang Nannaay, ang Tahataaaay, mga tiyuuuhin at tititiyahin ko nangamathaaaay lahaaat dahil sa letsing alaaak na ehtoo.”
Guy 1: “Gano’n pala! E’h bakit inom ka pa nang inom ng alak na ‘yan?”
Guy 2: “Phaaare, hendee akohh naglalashhing, IPINAGHIHIGANTI ko lang silang lahat!!!”